


An Ardent Vow

by ScripWriter



Series: Xanlow Week 2017: Vigilante AU [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Day One: Firsts & Kiss, First Meetings, Laslow/Inigo is a vigilante, Multi, Vigilantism, Xander is tired of vigilantes, Xanlow Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 18:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12487708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScripWriter/pseuds/ScripWriter
Summary: Xander had thought, after Anankos, that he was done with all of this unregistered hero nonsense. But when the vigilantes started to hang around his shop, around his siblings, he came to the dreary conclusion that if there was a god, they wanted to see him suffer. Especially when his siblings were actively encouraging it.At least this time, people tended to know the vigilantes’ names.





	An Ardent Vow

**Author's Note:**

> Xanlow Week 2017, Day One: Firsts & Kiss
> 
> This is the first part of a series of oneshots set in this AU that I'll be putting up once a day for each of the days of Xanlow Week. I've never actually participated in a ship week before, so this is pretty exciting!
> 
> This fic is dedicated to my friend K, bc she got me into Fire Emblem.

A few years ago, Xander didn’t know any vigilantes. He knew _of_ vigilantes, had seen them at work, fighting whoever had managed to get on their radar, but he didn't _know_ any. Not anymore. He _certainly_ didn’t know any vigilantes’ secret identities, and he had no plans to seek them out.

He used to know a vigilante’s secret identity, back when they’d been a vigilante and not a villain, but that was a long time ago. Besides, there’s no point dragging secrets back up from the grave they’d been buried in, so he certainly wasn’t about to mention it.

Xander had made a decision, about two years ago, that he wasn’t going to have anything to do with vigilantes. Not anymore. With vigilantes, things that went wrong went terribly wrong, and there were no records of identities to let the government fix things. Registered heroes were better. Less messy. There was little to no chance of them turning bad without a slew of alarms being set off and them being dealt with. Vigilantes didn’t have those checks and balances in place. Vigilantes weren’t safe. So Xander would avoid them.

The only concession Xander would make to that decision was when, once a year on Father’s Day, he went to the memorial of those taken by the villain Anankos, and laid a single flower in front of the stone wall. No one asked any questions. He was one of many who left tributes there, because so many had lost someone during that terrible week.

Xander knew none of them were giving a flower up for the same person he was, but they didn’t need to know anything about that. If he didn’t do something, then that would be admitting that his father had always been so awful, had never been the kind man from Xander’s earliest memories, and the thought hurt almost as much as the terrible years that had followed.

Xander would not go so far as to lie and say that Garon had done no wrong, but he wasn’t about to say he’d always been a villain, because that would be a lie as well. Because once, a long time ago, Garon had been a vigilante.

Maybe if he’d been a registered hero, none of this would’ve happened. Maybe the government would have taken him down, before he could get too far. Maybe Xander and all of his little siblings could’ve been saved from the pain that was their home life, been saved from the terror of having nowhere safe to turn to.

There was no use dwelling on ‘maybes,’ so Xander tried to make a point of not doing it.

Instead, he focused on his family, and the cafe, and picking up all the pieces in the aftermath. Elise had to be enrolled in a new school, now that her old one had been collateral damage in the fight. They needed enough money to keep paying for Leo’s antidepressants, on top of their other expenses. Corrin was trying to balance their finals with suddenly having two separate families, as opposed to just the one. Azura was in a similar situation, though Xander got the feeling that the pair’s other family probably saw more of her side of things. Camilla dropped out of college, starting to work in the cafe full time, and even though Xander felt guilty that she’d given up on her education to help him take care of the family, he didn’t tell her not to. He needed the help, and at least she was an adult. And Xander…

Xander was fine. Really, he was, no matter what he overheard his siblings say. He could think of all sorts of reasons why they were wrong about his current mental state. He wasn’t shutting himself off, he was just busy. He wasn’t using the cafe as a way to escape thinking about what had happened, they just needed all the money they could get, and he was doing what he could. He wasn’t ignoring his old friends, he just didn’t have time to catch up anymore.

Besides, Xander was content with his life, so long as his siblings were content with theirs.

Things got a bit easier with Corrin and Azura off at college, when they didn’t need quite as much support anymore. Elise’s school was a bit farther away, now, but that was manageable. Leo had managed to make it past his senior year, seeming to grow less troubled once he was out of that environment, and was taking a gap year before looking at colleges. And with Camilla’s help, and their younger siblings’ when they were free, Xander had managed to keep the cafe up and running. Life still wasn’t perfect, it never would be, but it was workable.

But the neighborhood was getting worse every year, and Xander would have moved them if he had the time or money. He stopped letting his siblings walk anywhere alone, at least not without pepper spray or some other method of self defense on hand, and started closing the cafe a little bit earlier, just to try and ward off the robbers that seemed more and more willing to come out in the dark.

With the rise in crime came a rise in vigilantes, and with them, a sudden drop in Xander’s sanity.

He’d thought, after Anankos, that he was _done_ with all of this unregistered hero nonsense. But when the vigilantes started to hang around his shop, around his _siblings_ , he came to the dreary conclusion that if there was a god, they wanted to see him suffer. Especially when his siblings were actively encouraging it.

At least this time, people tended to know the vigilantes’ names.

* * *

 

Some of the vigilantes were obvious.

Owain- sorry, ‘Odin Dark’- didn’t seem to think of hiding his face when he swooped in to rescue people, sending what was either genuine magic or some previously hidden firecrackers flying from his fingertips towards the muggers, thieves, and the even less savory criminals.

“Thanks, Ow- Odin,” Leo said, peering past the countertop to stare at the man who’d been attempting to rob the coffee shop moments earlier, now being led out by the police. “Wow, you really came out of nowhere,” Xander heard his little brother add, sounding nearly genuine. The regular patrons of the Nohr Cafe nodded. They’d all pretended to not notice when Owain had hurriedly pulled off his casual clothes to reveal the costume underneath.

“Just another example of my powerful dark magics!” ‘Odin’ exclaimed, striking a dramatic pose.

“Very impressive,” Leo said, looking suitably amazed. “Here, I’ll give you a coupon for a free drink, in return for helping us out.” He pulled one of the little business cards Elise had set up on the counter, grabbed a pen, and wrote ‘one free drink -Leo’ on it. “Here.”

“Thank you, kind barista!” Odin took the card and gave a sweeping bow. Xander watched as the cape started slipping off of the man’s shoulders, and wondered idly if it would fall to the floor, ruining the scene. “I shall be sure to put it to good use! But for now, I must bid you adieu!” He tugged the yellow cape fully up his shoulder and turned to sweep towards the exit, pausing only momentarily to collect his sweater and jeans from the floor. “Farewell!” Odin added over his shoulder, the little bell tinkling softly as he pushed open the door.

About a minute or two later, Owain stepped into the shop and rushed up to the counter. “Leo! I just saw _Odin Dark_ leave the cafe! Did you meet him? Do you think he’s cute?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes,” Leo answered, with far more patience than Xander thought he could ever muster in such a ridiculous scenario, “He’s very cute.”

“Oh, good,” Owain said in a relieved sigh. “That’s good. Oh, um, he gave me this, too,” he added, sliding the free drink card across the counter. “Can I use it? Even though I was _not_ the person that stopped the robber?” he asked, clearly stressing just how much he _wasn’t_ the vigilante.

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Leo said, with an exaggerated sigh. “I was sort of hoping he’d stop by when I was on my break, and we could have coffee together.”

Owain’s eyes went wide, and he picked up the card, nearly dropping it with shaking fingers. “Oh. Oh! W-Well, I’ll go see if I can track him down for you! When-When is your break?” he asked, almost desperately. He was already starting to back away towards the door.

Leo reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him there, and offered a sly grin. “Actually, though, I’m just as happy to have coffee with you, Owain,” he said sweetly. “My break is in fifteen minutes. If you’re free.”

“I’m free!” Owain said, in a startled, choked voice, like he couldn’t believe what was happening. “I’ll just- I’ll just wait over there, then, alright?” he said, pointing to a nearby table.

Leo nodded. He watched Owain hurry to the table with a steadily growing smirk. Xander let out a long sigh. “That was just cruel, brother,” he said. “You and Niles tease him too much. He already thinks he’s fighting with ‘The Phantom Thief Zero;’ you don’t have to make him compete with himself, as well.”

“I’m just trying to feed his passion for dramatics,” Leo said, smug look never leaving his face. “If it didn’t feel like a soap opera, he’d be _extremely_ disappointed.”

“Right,” Xander deadpanned. “This is clearly an act of kindness.”

“Exactly,” Leo agreed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have fifteen minutes to finish my work before I can take my break, and I intend to get as much done as I can.”

* * *

 

Some of the vigilantes didn’t even bother.

“Camilla, are you okay?” Severa asked. Her shirt had the name ‘Selena’ stitched onto it, but she’d never really bothered enforcing that people call her the alias. “Should I punch him again?”

“No, darling, I’m fine, but thank you,” Camilla said, beaming at the worried redhead. “You’ve saved me yet again.”

“Oh, good,” Severa said, shoulders sagging in relief. “I couldn’t bear if you got hurt on my watch. Or Beruka’s. Just don’t get hurt, please,” she finished, face turning red.

“Oh, I’m not worried,” Camilla said, leaning across the counter in a manner unprofessional enough that Xander considered scolding her for it. “I know that with two strong, _adorable_ girls such as yourselves looking after me, I’ll be perfectly safe.” She pressed a bit closer, and despite the two-feet wide tabletop between them, she’d managed to get ridiculously close to the furiously blushing girl’s face. A few of the other customers looked almost scandalized. As per usual, the regulars were too acclimated to this sort of thing to bother looking over.

“Save it for your breaks,” Xander chided weakly, well aware that once his sister got going, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

As expected, Camilla ignored him. “I don’t suppose both of you girls are free tomorrow afternoon, are you?” she asked, leaning her head forwards conspiratorially. One of her hands took hold of Severa’s, lacing them together and bringing them almost to her face.

Severa’s face was as red as her hair, at this point. “I can text Beruka,” she said weakly, eyes fixed on their intertwined fingers. “We’re- We’re probably good.”

“ _Lovely_ ,” Camilla purred out, pressing a kiss to the back of Severa’s hand. “You do that, and let me know what she says.”

Xander resisted a groan, but only barely. “Camilla, Leo’s already skipping work for a date. I can’t lose _you_ , too. Without one of your _ridiculous_ suitors hanging around, we’ll be robbed blind. Ever since _they_ showed up, I think being able to rob us has become a point of pride for some people.” He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “As much as I _hate_ to admit it, we need one of them around when I have to leave to pick up Elise from school.”

“You can call Hire-A-Hero,” Severa offered quickly. “They’d watch the shop for you. Or pick up Elise. Then everyone’s happy!” she finished, fingers tightening on Camilla’s own.

“Hire-A-Hero?” Xander said, not amused. “You have _got_ to be joking.”

Some of the vigilantes were ‘official.’

It took a week of schedules being stretched thin as his siblings went off with their various ‘heroes’ before Xander gave in and called the number on the card Severa had given him. It rang twice before being picked up.

“You have reached an establishment of justice!” a booming man’s voice announced through the phone. Xander nearly hung up right then and there. “I am Sir Arthur! What daring deed can I do for you today?”

“Give me the phone,” a woman’s voice said in the background, sighing.

“But-”

“Arthur, _please_ ,” the woman said. There was the sound of the phone exchanging hands. “Hi, you’ve reached Hire-A-Hero,” a woman’s no-nonsense voice said. “Our rates are thirteen dollars an hour for one of us, twenty one for both. This is Effie speaking. How can I help you?”

Xander hesitated, but this woman sounded less like she had a few screws loose, and more like she was running a genuine business, so he was willing to warily ask, “What sort of services do you provide?”

“If it’s legal, we’ll do it,” Effie answered, a shrug in her voice. “Anything from bodyguarding to grocery shopping. Yes, we have actually grocery shopped for people before.”

Xander mulled that over, then finally said, “Would you be willing to pick my little sister up from school on Thursdays and Fridays?” He pursed his lips, hating that he had to ask someone to do this. He had two siblings with driver’s licenses, four if you counted Corrin and Azura when they were home, and yet he had to reach out to strangers to look after Elise. Typical. “I doubt it would take the entire hour, but I’d pay you in full anyways.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s easy,” Effie agreed. “We can meet up later to discuss details. And that way you know we aren’t creeps, too, since that’s a concern we’ve had new customers voice in the past. But that should be fine. Lemme just take down some information so we can get this set up, alright?”

When he met them in person, just under twenty four hours later, he had Elise come with him so she could voice any objections. They were met by a muscular woman in massive body armor, almost swat gear. It was pink and gold, which caught Elise’s attention immediately. The man was dressed like he belonged in a comic book, and spoke like it too, but he seemed capable enough that Xander was willing to let it slide. At the very least, he followed Effie’s lead, which made Xander doubt anything too bad would happen, since she seemed on top of things.

“Can they pick me up from school _every_ day?” Elise asked, positively thrilled, as they left the meeting.

“I’m not paying for you to be picked up every day,” Xander said firmly. “Not when I’m available for half the week.”

The despondent expression she gave him at that was almost enough to make him take it back, but he hid any guilt beneath a stern look. Hopefully, she wouldn’t keep pressing the fact. He didn’t think anyone in their family had enough resolve to hold up completely to Elise’s puppydog eyes.

* * *

 

And some of the vigilantes were mysteries.

Xander tried to avoid walking places at night. The neighborhood didn’t use to be a bad one, but after Garon- after _Anankos_ \- it had gone drastically downhill. And yet, here he was, walking home from the store with two arms full of groceries, cursing that tonight, of all nights, was the night his siblings had decided to invite what seemed to be all of their friends over on such short notice. Now he was stuck making dinner for eight people, when they’d already been needing to restock the pantry soon, and his car was in the shop.

He was half expecting to be robbed, but that didn’t mean he was any less irritated when it actually happened. In any other neighborhood, he was fairly sure no one would bother trying to rob a six and a half foot tall man, but nowadays anyone without a weapon visible on their person was a target.

Something bright and silver flashed, and he felt the knife press up against his back before he had a chance to even react to the danger. “Gimme your wallet,” a rough voice said in his ear.

As much as he wanted to sigh, Xander fought to keep it in, figuring it was best not to aggravate the man. “Give me a moment to put down my bags, will you? I can’t get it when my hands are already full,” he said, careful to keep his voice level.

“Al-Alright, but be quick about it!” the man snapped.

Xander slowly placed his groceries down on the ground, and then started to pull a spare wallet out of his pocket. After living here for so long, he’d taken to bringing a second one with him everywhere, with exactly forty dollars inside, just to get muggers to go away. It was safer than handing over his real wallet or trying to fight them.

As he pulled it out, there was a strange clattering from further down the alleyway. Xander and the robber both glanced over to see, barreling past the dumpsters and fire escapes like it had any business being there, a _horse_ . Riding on it’s back was a woman with pastel pink and blue hair and a man dressed in dark blues. The man leapt off the horse, _did a flip_ , and then landed in a bow on his feet, pulling a _rapier_ from an actual _scabbard_ on his belt.

After about half a year of having vigilantes hanging around his cafe, Xander had thought he couldn’t be surprised by anything anymore. Evidently, he’d thought wrong.

“Stop, criminal!” the blue man said, a grin adorning the half of his face that showed under his mask. “If you wish for blood, draw your blade and face me!”

The robber took one look at him, and then turned to run, but the woman and the horse were already blocking his escape path. She grinned down at him, all teeth and no friendliness, as she hoisted a  genuine _lance_ into the air above his chest. “I’d take your chances with the duel,” she said brightly. “He doesn’t fight to kill. I _do._ ”

The knife dropped from the robber’s hands. “Please don’t hurt me!” the man pleaded, voice cracking. “I surrender!”

The woman frowned, clearly disappointed. “Seriously? That’s it?” she asked. She lifted her weapon and easily knocked him out with the end of it. Xander doubted that the man would be waking up anytime soon, or if he did, it would be with worse than just a headache. “Laslow, being a hero is _boring_ . Next time you want to save people, you can do it without me.” She tugged on the reins and started trotting away. “If we don’t actually draw blood in the next hour, I’m gonna _slaughter_ you!”

Laslow didn’t seem bothered by her threat, just reaching up and adjusting the dark gray hair on his head. “I love you too, Peri!” he called out after her. “Hey, wait up! It’s our civic duty to escort this _dashing_ man back to safety,” he added, offered Xander a winning smile.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Xander said, hiding the faint flush on his cheeks by ducking down to pick up his bags. Laslow quickly bent down to help, which just earned him a suspicious glance. “I don’t need your help.” Laslow just flashed him a wink and kept gathering what he could.

“ _C’mon,_ Laslow!” Peri urged, crossing her arms from atop the horse. “I am _not_ going to help a stranger carry groceries home! That’s, like, the lamest thing _ever_.”

“You can leave if you want to,” Laslow pointed out amicably, straightening with the bag. “But I don’t want to save someone just so they can get mugged again.”

Peri shot him a frankly disgusted look. “ _Fine._ Go help little old ladies cross the street all night, for all I care. _I’m_ going to go find Zero and make him rob a bank with me.” And with that, she urged her horse to start forwards and began galloping away.

Xander didn’t know if he was more surprised or annoyed to find that this woman was an acquaintance of Niles’. Probably the latter. She _seemed_ like someone Niles would spend time with.

Laslow grimaced. “I should stop her. Sorry. Are you sure you don’t need help?” he asked, voice taking on a concerned undertone as he handed Xander his half of the groceries.

“ _Yes_ ,” Xander said with a sigh. “Please, go. There are too many vigilantes in my life as it is.”

Laslow gave him an odd look at that, but shrugged it off, giving Xander a slight bow and a flourish. “If you ever find yourself in need of one more, you can always call on me. Laslow, the Dancing Duelist, forever at your service,” he said, voice dropping slightly, making the moment seem almost intimate. Then he reached out, caught Xander’s hand and kissed it, which came as such a surprise he nearly dropped his bags a second time. “I hope to see you again soon.”

And with that, he turned, breaking the sudden softness and starting to run out of the alleyway after the horse and rider, shouting, “Peri! Wait up! You’re making a mistake!”

Xander blinked after him as the voice faded into the distance, looked at his hand, still half extended, and blinked once again. He could feel the blood rushing to his face, so he shook himself, trying to regain control.

“Stupid vigilantes,” he murmured halfheartedly. “They’ll flirt with anything on two legs.”

But, despite his protests, he could feel the place where Laslow’s lips had pressed against his hand burn with a steady warmth the entire way home.

* * *

 

No matter how well they hid their identities, vigilantes were annoying.

A week later, Xander had forgotten about the Dancing Duelist. No, really, he had. He had no reason to keep thinking about the gentle press of lips to the back of his hand, the twinkling brown eyes that smiled up at him, or the softness in his voice as he said his farewell. And since he had no reason to think about it, he didn’t. It was that simple.

At least, that’s what Xander kept telling himself when, for the sixth time in four days, he caught himself starting to slip up in the cafe again, all because of that blasted man and his blasted flirting. Both of which he wasn’t thinking about. At all.

At this point, he was so preoccupied with _not_ thinking about the man, someone who, for all intents and purposes, Xander should _hate_ for going against the system of registered heroes, he would welcome just about any distraction.

Maybe that was why, when a customer leaned slightly on the counter when they got up to it, flashing him a bright smile and a quick wink, he didn’t brush them off immediately. “Hey,” the man said. Something about him seemed familiar, but Xander was fairly sure he’d recognize a man with such bright pink hair, so it must’ve been a coincidence. “Is the coffee here anywhere near as hot as you?”

Xander took a moment to process that, taken slightly aback, but he felt the small smile forming across his lips before he could stop it, and decided it wouldn’t hurt, just this once, to let the flirting slide. It was usually a part of being a barista he would consider to be a hazard, or at best background noise, but maybe he was a bit desperate for something to take his mind off of things. “You’ll probably have to be the judge of that,” he informed the man. Then, deciding that if he could use such a terrible line, then Xander could too, he added, “The pastries probably aren’t as sweet as you, though, so you might be disappointed on that end.” He heard someone nearby cough, clearly startled, but disregarded it, keeping his eyes locked on the man’s.

The man opened his mouth and closed it, face starting to flush, and Xander wondered if maybe he should’ve said something else. Before he could do anything, however, a familiar redhead rushed over and took hold of the man’s arm, starting to pull him to the side. “Ignore him,” Severa said, giving Xander a strange look. “He’s not used to people flirting back. I think you broke him.”

“Severa!” the man finally spoke, face turning even more red. “Don’t- Don’t say that!”

“It’s true,” she scoffed bluntly. “C’mon, stupid, you can come cool down over here, and Xander will still be around for you to talk to once you’ve relaxed. If he’s still interested after that,” she added, rolling her eyes. She pulled him away before Xander could hear the man’s response, but she was still loud enough that he could make out her words. “Okay, but that’s the first time I’ve seen him express an emotion that wasn’t exhaustion or annoyance, so what did you _do_?” he heard her say to the man, sounding so sincere that Xander was almost offended.

Then a group of new customers came in, and Xander had to put those thoughts to the side as he served them.

It was nearly a full hour later when he heard someone approaching the counter, and he looked up, expecting to get another order, and found himself looking at the pink-haired man from earlier. His face was still red, but he was remarkably composed. “Hi,” he said, smile nervous. “Sorry. About earlier. That was- Um, I’m usually not so- So weird. I’m Inigo, by the way.” He tentatively reached out across the countertop, offering a handshake.

Xander accepted, raising an eyebrow. “Xander. Nice to meet you.”

Inigo’s smile got a bit more assured. “So, um, can we just pretend that other meeting didn’t happen? It was- It was embarrassing. And awkward. Sorry, again,” he added.

Xander took in the blush still present on the man’s cheeks, the sincere sort of kindness present in his eyes, and the almost fragile grip he had on Xander’s hand, and let the smile from earlier come back. “I don’t know,” he said quietly, leaning a bit closer so only Inigo would be able to hear, and hoping that no one else would be able to see his own blush, “I thought it was kind of cute.”

This time, Severa shot Xander a positively _baffled_ look as she led Inigo back to his seat, where he buried his face in his hands for the rest of his stay. Xander gave him a free latte to make up for it, but he wasn’t sure it helped anything.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at https://statuesarecooliguess.tumblr.com/


End file.
